Escape Hunt Group is planning to open its first branch in Birmingham on 120 - 122 Corporation Street.

The 4,262 sq ft first floor space in Martineau Galleries will be converted to include seven escape rooms.

Escape games lock participants in a room for a set time and they must solve a series of clues in order to leave before the clock runs out.

Escape games have grown in popularity and are now big business. Whether each room is themed around pure horror, or more of a vintage mystery, they all place the player under extreme pressure as they try to find their way out.

The Escape Hunt Experience launched in Bangkok in 2013 and their games typically require players to solve a crime story or mystery which had been tailored to the location of the site and within 60 minutes.

The company is now a franchised global network of 38 branches operating 214 rooms across 20 countries including Barcelona Lisbon and Paris.

It regularly gets top reviews on Tripadvisor. Reviews include Posy1991 Hull who said: "I have done between 10 - 15 escape rooms across the UK and The Escape Hunt Experience in Barcelona offers some of the best I have ever done.

"We were extremely glad we choose this place. We liked the room so much we went back and did another one the next day."

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The new Escape Hunt complex will be housed in Martineau Galleries in Corporation Street (Image: Google maps street view)

A Tripadvisor reviewer who visited the ultimate gaming experience in Brisbane, Australia said: "We did the Escape Hunt Experience for a team building event for work.

"We had done this once before elsewhere but much preferred this one. The puzzles were challenging but not impossible and it was very well done. We managed to escape the Government House in 40 minutes!"

Escape Tome recently opened in Sutton Coldfield and Keyhunter is based in the Gay Village.

Chief executive Richard Harpham said: “Birmingham continues to thrive as a business centre and as one of the UK’s premier retail destinations.

Escape games are growing in popularity with several different versions through Birmingham

“Birmingham’s bustling city centre makes it a perfect place for us to launch one of our first sites and we are confident that our immersive entertainment offer will be well-suited to the city’s families, students and office workers.

“We look forward to expanding our owner-operated network right across the UK and, as part of that, we are confident that locations such as Birmingham will have a huge part to play as we continue to grow.”